Eight months ago, Pete Carroll said he was going to change the Seahawks and make changes.
He sure has.
Carroll, along with GM John Schneider, have only kept 26 players from last year's roster. And we're not talking about backups here. We're talking about starters: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Josh Wilson, and Jordan Babineaux. They have also given away former first round pick Lawrence Jackson. So why are they doing this?
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To inject life into the organization.
Many people disagree with me. Those people say we should have kept those guys and made a run at the NFC West title. But haven't we been down that road before? The Seahawks signed Deon Grant, Housh, Brian Russell, Patrick Kerney and Deion Branch to expensive long term deals hoping to get back to the Super Bowl. Good idea right?
But there was a problem.
When we signed those guys they were all coming off productive seasons. But, they were also getting up there in age, all around 30 years old. In most of their first seasons they did live up to their paycheck, resulting in two more division titles in 2006 and 2007.
But then it all came crashing down.
Because of their commitment to these older players, the Hawks totally forgot about their younger guys, their future. They never drafted a heir to Shaun Alexander, forgot about their receiving core, and disregarded their D-line. Because of this, they were stuck with a bunch of aging veterans trying to scrape wins off the ground in 2008 and 2009.
Pete Carroll is changing that.
He got rid of Grant, Russell and Houshmandzadeh. Why? Because they weren't in the Seahawks' long term future. Guys like Earl Thomas, Golden Tate, Aaron Curry, Max Unger, Russell Okung and Deon Butler are. The Carroll regime wants play-makers. They want excitement. That's what those guys are.
But not yet.
What Pete is trying to say is the time to try to win the Super Bowl is not now. He wants to install his system, get his guys, get his style implemented. He's saying, "Just wait Seahawks fans, our time is not now, but later."
So where does that leave this season? It's probably going to be some big losses, and Carroll knows that. And the players know that, they're not stupid. Because there are so many new players, they will need time to know how to work together as a team. This team is rebuilding, and we can't forget that.
But trust me 12th man, our time will come once again.
Reach Nathan Parsons at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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Monday, September 6, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
SEAHAWKS: BREAKING: Housh released
The Seahawks have cut T.J. Houshmandzadeh, according to various reports. Houshmandzadeh caught 79 passes a year ago, but became expendable after the emergence of Mike Williams. Seattle is also in rebuilding mode, and Houshmandzadeh was signed to an overbearing four-year, $40 million contract. Read more
Thursday, September 2, 2010
SEAHAWKS: Players who shined (or didn't) in the preseason
As you might have heard, the Seahawks wrapped up their preseason last night with a 24 - 27 loss against the Oakland Raiders, finishing the meaningless season 1-3. In preseason, it's not so much about the score, it's really about the individual performances. Here is (in my opinion) the players who shined during these exhibition games, or did the opposite.
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Shined
Marcus Trufant After Tru's Pro Bowl 2007 season, the Seahawks signed him to a hefty 6-year, 50 million dollar contract. Unfortunately, he has had to battle injuries the last two years, putting him under some scrutiny with Seahawks fans. He had a several pass interference penalties last year due to his inability to keep up with guys like Miles Austin. But this preseason, he has seemed to have gotten back that speed he has always had. He has fully regained the starting CB spot, and looks to have a bounce-back year.
Mike Williams For those of you who don't know Mike's story, here is a short summary. Got drafted 10th overall out of USC in 2005, got lazy, got cut, got out of the NFL, got fat, got invited to Seahawks training camp. And what has he done? Only has fought for a roster spot against all odds, become the most productive WR on the Seahawks roster catching 8 passes for 149 yards. The great thing about Williams is he is only 26, is 6-5, and is 235 pounds and seems to have a bright future.
Chris Clemons To be honest, I was probably the least excited out of anyone when we acquired Chris in a trade with Philadelphia. But he has so far proved me wrong. In the three games he played this preseason, he has three sacks and one forced fumble. What makes me excited is he is 6-3, 254 pounds and two of his sacks were against a very good Vikings offensive line. He has consistently put pressure on the quarterback, which makes me imagine he should get around 8-10 sacks this year.
Regressed
Charlie Whitehurst After the Seahawks first preseason game, where Charlie threw 2 touchdowns compared to 1 interception with a 65% completion rate,which resulted in fans calling for Matt Hasselbeck's head. Not anymore. In his last 3 games, he has thrown 3 interceptions while only completing around 50% of his passes. He has looked especially shaky in the pocket, overthrowing his receivers multiple times.
The running backs When I say running backs, I mean the trio of Justin Forsett, Julius Jones, and Leon Washington. Forsett has done O.K., hitting holes when he has the opportunity. We can't really say how well Washington has done, considering he has only had a couple carries. As for Jones, it seems his style of running is more suited to running into his offensive lineman and flopping over (Shawn Alexander 2007 anyone?), instead of hitting the opening in the line. Let's just say our running game needs some work.
Reach Nathan Parsons at nathanparsons98@yahoo.com Read more
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
SEAHAWKS: Wilson traded, Polumbus picked up
BREAKING: The Seahawks have traded cornerback Josh Wilson to the Baltimore Ravens for a conditional 2011 draft pick.
Wilson will be returning to his prior home where he was drafted out of the University of Maryland in the second round (55th overall) in 2007. Last season Wilson started 11 games. His three career interception returns for touchdowns ranks second in team history.
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